Family Night!

My aunt and uncle are visiting from Nashville for a few weeks with their family. We all met up at my grandparent's house for some casual portraits of the kids. The kids were great, especially considering there were 5 of them...all under 10! My aunt's sister also came for some portraits of her daughter with her cousins and a mother-daughter portrait. The weather was great...clear and low 70's. Much better than the hot humid nightmare it's been recently.

Here are just a few of my favs....the rest will be added to the gallery in about a week. I hope you enjoy these!! And happy 4th to everyone!

Happy Birthday, Meadow!

My daughter's friend is 4-years-old today!! I met her family at the Toledo Botanical Gardens for some 4-year portraits to mark the event. It was a beautiful, but hot, night and Meadow was beyond cooperative. She did a great job! Miss Meadow, I hope you enjoy your "sneak peek" of your pictures and we'll see you friday!





And one cool family shot :)

Portrait Party, Livonia, MI

Today we beat the odds and finished our portrait party BEFORE THE RAIN!!! Thank you so much to all the families that came out today. It was a great day and I enjoyed all of it. It was tough to pick which images to showcase here...there are so many good ones :)

Let's start with the son of my hosts:


And now his cutie pie cousin:


And now the son of the host's very good friend:


Here is the son of a friend and former co-worker of mine:


These kids belong to the sister of the host's soon-to-be sister n' law (follow that?;):


These final three images are of my former co-worker and friend's neighbor's kids:




Many thanks going out to my wonderful hosts for organizing this party, supplying food and drinks and picking the location. I will be working on these images all week and will be sending out links to private galleries to each of your guests.

I hope you all enjoy your preview!!

Beautiful Day for a Beautiful Family

Yesterday I took a drive to Ann Arbor, Mi, to one of my favorite spots....the Arboretum. I met my cousin, Alex, and her family there for a family session. This family has more smarts, character, and beauty than can be expressed with words. So I will leave it to the pictures to tell the rest of the story.

It was so nice to meet/see all of you. Thank you for the opportunity to photograph your family!! I hope you enjoy your sneak peek. The rest of your images will be sent to you shortly.

Lily Bee

You may remember a couple of weeks back when I blogged a maternity session with a painted belly? Well, that was baby Lily Bee. Lily came into the world on May 3, 2010 just as perfect as could be. Lily's big sister's nickname is Bug so now mom and dad have a Bug and a Bee. How perfect :)

I wanted to try out a new Dr. Seuss theme that has been etched in my mind for a while now so thank you to Julie at http://www.etsy.com/shop/weestringsandthings for making the Cat in the Hat knitted accessories. Check her out, she's the best!



I think they came out pretty good!

Such a beauty...


Sisters....


Peaceful moments with mom....



I hope you enjoyed your sneak peek! I will be sending your private slideshow over soon with the rest of your images. Enjoy that little Bee. She is a cutie!!

Blue-Eyed Beauty

Today I photographed a 6-month-old princess named Liz. "Lizzie" and her family live on an incredible property that backs up to a wooded trail...how perfect!! Lizzie's mommy has been very patient with me as we rescheduled twice...once for weather and once for a sick baby (mine). I was so excited to finally get there today and help the family capture Lizzie's 6-month milestone.

Lizzie was so well-behaved and sweet. It was an absolute joy to photograph her today. Below are just a couple of images from our session. Mom and dad....many more images are headed your way soon. Thank you so much for the opportunity to photograph your beautiful family. I hope you enjoy your sneak peek!

"D"troit Love

Today I was lucky enough to participate in one of the most fun sessions I have had yet! Mike and Deanna are getting married in September and wanted to do some engagement shots in Downtown Detroit. I love Detroit. Despite all of its troubles, it will always hold a special place in my heart. I was so happy to be back there today.

Deanna really likes the Tigers so we grabbed some shots in front of Comerica Park. Here are two of them:



Then it was on to a little park just down the street where I grabbed this shot of her beautiful ring that Mike picked out all by himself. Didn't he do a great job?


And nothing like a city park!


From the park we headed to one of my favorite spots...the Detroit Beer Company. It was a perfect day to sit outside and have a drink! Here are two shots from the DBC:



Mike and Deanna, there are many more images coming your way in the next few days. Thank you so much for allowing me to take your photos today. I wish you the best of luck with your wedding planning. It'll be here before you know it :)

Tess Is Here!!

You may remember Molly from a few blog posts back. Well, Molly and her family welcomed baby Tessa (Tess) on Saturday, April 10th....her due date!! Tess is the sweetest little baby with the cutest reddish hair I've ever seen. Tess's big sisters are adjusting perfectly and this family of five is settling in with ease.

I LOVE photographing newborns. They are so sweet and so full of potential...it's like a getting a glimpse of the future. Molly and family, I had a great time photographing your new little girl. I hope you love these images!!

There is one more very important thing to mention in this blog post. The knitted cocoon, hat and flannel diaper covers were hand made by Julie at http://www.etsy.com/shop/weestringsandthings. She does the most beautiful work!! Thank you, Julie :)

Maternity Awesomeness

So today I had the huge privilege of photographing a preggo woman and her beautiful family. Drew is the mother of a good friend of Lydia's. The girls go to preschool together and play soccer on the same team. Putting Lydia in the Toledo Zoo Preschool has been one of the best decisions I have ever made as it allowed her to make some great friends but it has also given me some wonderful friends!!

Drew likes a good mix of classic and artistic shots and was brave enough to allow me to bring out the paints!! I absolutely love these photos and I hope they do too. Now that the session is over, we anxiously await the birth of their new baby girl and take some more pictures when she arrives!!

Drew and family, I hope you enjoy your sneak peek!

And just for dad....the beautiful purple tree and your beautiful little girl :)